In The Heart Of A Symbol
by Silverquickstar
Summary: Does material things define the meaning of Valentine's Day? Terry didn't think so and he was determined to let his friend, Max, know just how unmaterialistic he was. Terry/Max oneshot.


**Author's Note**: Ok, before you start biting at my head, I decided to do one-shots only for Batman Beyond. I'll leave it at that.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Batman Beyond…and all that jazz.

**Another Note**: It seems that site ruins the format of every single story I upload. So, if the paragraphs seem too close, it is NOT my doing. It is the site. Thanks!

"**In The Heart Of A Symbol"**

Electro-Hearts. Electro-Red Balloons. Electro-Teddy bears. Edible chocolates. Electro-Cards. What more could the commercial public come up with for most over-rated holiday ever created? Constant showings of love commercials displaying couples giving each other jewelry dominated the vid-tube and it nearly drove Maxine Gibson insane.

The intelligent, pink-haired, seven-teen year old leaned back into her lunch table booth sipping on her strawberry slurpy. She observed the Valentine's Day ruckus as girls squealed and giggled at the gifts their boyfriends gave them or watching the guys huddle in a group together bragging on who got their girlfriend the best and biggest gift. This nearly made Max lose her appetite. After all, she also received the same amount of attention from the male sex as well. She had been given at least eight card, two teddy bears, and six red roses, which were all given to her by those that she expected to receive something from and a couple who totally caught her off guard.

Steven Quincy, the biggest school nerd had revealed through one of her eight cards that he always admired Max from afar in science class and always found her wit to be biggest turn on in his life. Granted, Steve wasn't the most attractive person in the world, but knowing how he felt about her in that manner was a bit too much information for her to know. But, his surprise confession of love was nowhere near as heart stopping as one of the cards with a rose that she received from the most unlikely person, Nelson Nash. Max had clashed so many times with Nelson, that even getting a gift from him had to have been a sign that she was about to spiral out of existence. However, despite his arrogant attitude and overly massive ego, the gesture from Nelson was rather nice. Though, Max really wasn't impressed with these gifts. Material items on a day like Valentine's Day just didn't make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It wasn't a thing, no, it was a person. She has known this individual since she was in the fifth grade and he always made Valentine's Day more special by just being there and making all of the commercial noise go away.

"Today has been one of pure suffocation, huh, Max?" someone said suddenly. Max turned in her seat and looked up to see her best friend, Terry McGinnis, standing before her. "You're telling me. I have been smothered in gifts today by many unlikely beaus. I don't even have room in my lock to stuff the two teddy bears in. I cannot wait for school to be over, let along today." Max said as she buried her face into her hands. Terry sat down in the booth in front of her and smiled as he nodded in agreement. "You're right, but let's not be quick to end the day just yet. I have a surprise for a special someone later on tonight, and I think she might like it. I have been planning it all week." Terry beamed. Max figured that this may be one of Terry's many attempts to make it up to his, now ex-girlfriend, Dana Tan. Dana had broken up with Terry about a month ago and since then, it seemed like the two actually called it quits up permanently. This did not pose as a surprise to Max at all, but she did feel that Terry could so much better than Dana, even though she, too, was a good friend of hers. "Well, what is the surprise? Maybe I can help you execute it. It sounds like it's really something big." Max said as she took another sip out of her slurpy. Terry only gazed at Max and smiled his charming, yet sneaky smile and arose from his seat. "I'll tell you later. It's a secret. Just be ready tonight around nine to help me make it happen, ok?" Terry said as he peace-signed his best friend and disappeared out of the cafeteria. Max could only giggle to herself while she wondered exactly what Terry had up his sleeve

***

Matching clothes together was noted to be one of the biggest struggles in a woman's life. The top has to not only compliment the pants design-wise, but by color, too. But, the hardest part of it all was matching the shoes. This particularly irritated Max. She only owned three pairs of shoes, which consists of casual wear, play-time wear, and dress-wear. She saw no need, no interest, no point, really, in having a million shoes match on outfit. But, that's what many of the kids at her highschool do to stay "hip and cool". Luckily, this wasn't the main focus on her mind. The super special Valentine's Day surprise that Terry has planned to throw hurried Max in a fit to find a decent outfit to wear just in case the place that Terry wanted to show her for his special someone was that of casual comfortable wear. Going through the walk in closet in the corner of her room, she picked out a nice black, low-cut, short sleeve top, a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged her hips and legs perfectly, and her casual white D-swiss low-top sneakers. Max loved the way her style flaunted itself as being not totally hiphop, but surely and casually sophisticated at the same time. She then combed her almost metallic pink hair and put on her favorite silver hoop earrings that glistened every time she turned her head. Everything was all set and all that was needed now was the dark-haired gentleman in question.

A tap suddenly emitted from behind Max as she stood admiring her ensemble in her bedroom mirror. "Why in the world are you outside, McGinnis…?" Max thought to herself as she jogged towards the window to let in her friend, who also happens to be the dark knight, the protector himself, Batman. Terry reached out grabbed Max's arm before not allowing himself to come all the way through her window. "Max, grab your purse and meet me on the roof, ok?" With that said, Terry quickly maneuvered himself up the building like a spider to await Max's arrival. Max was quick to acknowledge her friend, grabbed her coat, and double checked everything before leaving her apartment.

Max climbed last three flights of stairs before reaching the roof at the top of her apartment building. She looked around for any sign of Batman in shadows of abandoned boxes, crates, and air conditioner units, which surprisingly were still in working condition. "Ok, I give up. Where are you hiding? A person can trip and fall walking around up here." Max said as she stopped and observed more of her surroundings. Before she knew it, Batman appeared before her using his invisibility cloak, which completely startled her at the same time. She hated when he did that. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. So, are you ready to see the surprise I put together? I wanted you to be the first to see it." Terry asked anxiously. Even through the cowl, it was easy to detect his smile and his excitement. This was one of the many reason Max adored Terry's generosity in being such a selfless person when it came to making others happy. As they walked, hand in hand, across the roof top, the two friends boarded onto the batwing and slowly jetted into the sky and over the city.

Despite the never ending crime wave, Gotham city was a sight to see at night. The multicolored search lights beamed outwardly through the sky casting a glow around all of the buildings. It was cramped on the inside of the batwing, and Terry's ear on the cowl continued to flirt with Max's eye. But, that didn't stop her at all from admiring the town she lived in. It was as if she could get lost in all of its mysterious glory. The couple arrived and landed on top of a building that had a statue of a man hugging himself attached to the front of it. The words written across his arms read "Embrace" as it was the name of the museum that held artifacts of African and Asian cultures. That was her favorite place to visit and it confused her as to why they had stopped there. She didn't know exactly what this had to do with the Valentine's Day surprise. In mid though, she didn't notice that Batman had opened the hood of the batwing and as he hopped out, he had motioned to escort his her out the jet as well.

"Terry, why are we here at the Embrace museum? I thought we were going to see the surprise you made." Max asked innocently as she brushed a strand of her hair over her brow. The dark-haired young man removed his cowl and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked towards his feet shyly and then stared back into the eyes of his female counterpart. "This is the surprise. Look behind you." Terry said sweetly. Still confused as to what was happening, Max turned around to see a red bat shaped blanket stretched neatly on the ground about five feet away from her. On it sat four white candles, two empty glasses, two plates stacked on top of each other, and a picnic basket. She awed at the sight of what Terry had done and turned back towards her friend speechless. "Happy Valentine's Day, Max. You're my special person. I figured after all of the cliché gifts you had received today, you would like someone a little more…unique. Besides, when I really think about it, there is really no one else I would rather spend this day with than with you." Terry proclaimed as he stepped forward and took hold of the hands of the person he always admired as more than a friend and more than anyone else. No words could explain the thoughts and feelings that surged through the two teens as they gazed into each other's eyes. What just happened? A moment ago, they were the best of friends. Had known each other for the longest time and stuck by each other longer than any relationship that either one of them had ever been in. Now, one of them had declared love for the other and it couldn't have happened at a more perfect time on a more perfect day. "Wow…I thought you were planning something Dana in order to get back with her. I didn't know you were planning this for me. You actually think of me as someone special enough to deserve something like this?" Max stammered as she smiled graciously. "Yes, it was for you. I'm done with Dana. I should have known that that was going to last the minute I took this night job. And anyway, I don't think she would have been able to understand and cope with my new life…not like you were able to. It finally hit me that you were the person I should have been with from the beginning. Yeah, I care for you. I care for you a whole lot more than you will ever know." Terry said in pure honesty. He then led his friend towards the picnic spot and they both sat down and started to dine. "Thank you so much for this. I thought this Valentine's Day would be as lame as the rest. But, you have really made this extra special. I don't think I will ever forget this day." Max said as she smile and took as sip of her sparkling soda. "It gets better, trust me. Look towards the moon in that direction and don't take your eyes off it." Terry said as he pointed outward. After a minute or two, a search light suddenly turned on near the couple and beamed its light towards the night sky. A symbol of a bat had appeared and in the middle of it was the shape of a heart. "Not only do I love you, but Batman loves you, too." Terry quipped as he glanced at the symbol and then looked back at his partner. Max looked at her dark hero and shook her head in an overwhelmed disbelief at how things had unfolded. There was only one thing left to do to make this night even more enchanted, and in doing so, the two best friends leaned in, closed their eyes, and kissed each other ever so sweetly and ever so gently.

**Author's Note**: Well, you know the routine…review..and I hope you enjoyed it! ^___^*


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